All posts for the month June, 2016

Lassen Peak is a dramatic highlight of the view above Boiling Springs Lake.

Last week I was able to get away for a few days and knock out the majority of the trails I have left in the Cascades. I completed four trails in and around Lassen Volcanic National Park. Living at the foot of Mount Shasta like I do, it is often easy to forget that the Cascades are more extensive than my immediate area and that the Lassen region holds its own against other volcanic playgrounds quite ably. It certainly reminds the hiker how fresh and recent the volcanic activity has been and can be. Short of visiting Mount St. Helens, you will be hard pressed to see more recent indications of the forces that continue to shape these mountains. Indeed, the geothermal features around Lassen are very impressive and will feature as a real highlight in the upcoming book. The only Cascade trail that remains to be completed is the climb to the summit of Lassen Peak itself. There is still enough snow on the peak that I decided to attempt it later in the summer so that I could get a better track on the trail. Fortunately, that is close enough to where I live that it is a very easy day trip. I plan to take the family on that one. So, now that these are done, the only none-Sierra Nevada trails I have left are Lassen Peak and three more trails scattered around the Klamath Mountains. Look for more book updates in a week or so!

The first trail I completed on this trip was a 13 mile loop in the eastern, less traveled part of Lassen. In truth, this area, especially around the starkly beautiful Cinder Cone, is my favorite part of the park. There are no active geothermal features here but there is no lack of recent volcanism . The Fantastic Lava Beds and the Painted Dunes are spectacular and the view of Lassen Peak from the dunes and the summit of the Cinder Cone are probably my favorite. This loop boasts much more though, and includes lengthy passage along both Butte and Snag Lakes. The latter is deep in the backcountry and feels as remote as it is. Both lakes are lined by the bleak black rock of the Fantastic Lava Beds, giving them an unusual appearance in places. Meadows, creeks and cinder plains also highlight this great loop.

The next hike was through Lassen’s Warner Valley. This area boasts a high concentration of geothermal features, including the Devil’s Kitchen, the second largest geothermal area in the park, after the famed Bumpass Hell. A side trail also leads to Boiling Springs Lake, where the putrid water is fed by hissing hot springs. At both sites the smell of Hydrogen Sulfide is quite apparent. In addition to these volcanic features, the trail at times follows beautiful Warner Creek and passes through vast, lush meadows lined with rugged cliffs. There are also numerous springs bursting out of the ground along the trail.

I next hiked the Bizz Johnson Trail near Susanville. This is the only hike in my book that is a rails-to-trails conversion and it certainly must be one of the best such trails in the country. In total, the trail travels 26 miles from Susanville to Westwood, near Lake Almanor. For the book I am only including about 4.5 miles. This segment travels through the beautiful Susan River Canyon. The rock around the canyon is volcanic in origin and basalt and tuff are both abundant alongside the trail. The entire hike runs parallel to the Susan River and passes over several converted railroad bridges as well as two awesome tunnels hewn into the volcanic rock. Rather than simply following the trail back after turning around, I hiked the new South Side Trail, which crosses the river and follows it on the side opposite the Bizz Johnson Trail. This path is great single track and has many sections that have climbed high in the canyon, offering great views.

The last hike I was able to do on this trip was a scenic loop through the little-used Caribou Wilderness. This area borders the eastern end of Lassen Volcanic National Park. It is mostly composed of a high volcanic bench and dotted with dozens of beautiful lakes. While this area is not known for its scenic vistas, it has lovely forests, lots of volcanic rock features and more lakes and ponds than you can count. It also has deep solitude. I did not see a soul the entire time I was there.

This post is a bit overdue, but I am only getting to it now because I have been gone so much over the last month working on my new book that I have a bit of a backlog of posts. The last time I posted to the blog, I highlighted a new section of the Lake Siskiyou Trail that had been completed by the Mount Shasta Trails Association. Now I can follow it up and note that the seasonal bridges across the Sacramento River at the lake’s inlet have been installed and the loop around the lake is complete. This presents the new opportunity to circumnavigate the lake, staying near the water the entire time and enjoying the peaceful new addition along with all the other great parts of the trail. This really is a gem of a trail and a huge asset to the Mount Shasta area.

When I popped over to the lake to check on the conditions, I was surprised with how much debris had accumulated around the river. Snags, root balls and other forest detritus littered the rocky floodplain. Aside from all the debris, a couple of other things are worth noting. The bridge over the south channel has not been installed. The the river dammed during high water a couple winters ago and the channel and it is now dry. It is easily crossable on foot and the old foundations are still present, marking the spot where the bridge was crossed the river. Also, wood and rock have been used to demarcate the trail across the inlet area’s rocky terrain. This is the case from the south channel all the way to the bridge over the north channel. However, once across the bridge there is no discernable trail and it is necessary to find the bridge over the secondary channel hidden in the lush riparian vegetation. It is not a big deal, it requires a little heads up.

It is interesting to note that the river is still up to its old tricks regarding its seemingly constant channel-changing. I most recently related this activity here and here. In the past, the water’s path was once consistent enough that the trail was built in permanent fashion. It has now, over the last couple of years, proven to be extremely flexible in which way the water flows and any permanent trail route seems unrealistic since channel has been altered significantly the last couple of winters. The bridge is located in roughly the same spot it was last year but where there was once a shallow gully through the rocks has been deepened considerably. If some of the debris along the banks was removed it would make a wonderful swimming hole. The river has also decided to make use of two paths, where earlier this year it flowed only through the primary one. I was surprised by how much of the water was running underground, disappearing beneath the rocky floodplain. It will be fascinating to see how the Sacramento continues to alter the land over the next winter.

The Lake Siskiyou Trail, possibly the most popular trail in the Mount Shasta area, is already a great hiking resource. It boasts beautiful scenery, neat trail engineering, a gentle grade throughout and easy access all the way around the lake. Yet, thanks to the tireless efforts of the Mount Shasta Trails Association, the trail has been significantly improved in the last couple of months. For most of the trail’s circumnavigation of Lake Siskiyou, it has open views and stays within sight of the water. If it does veer away from the lakeshore, it often passes through pleasant forest or meadow. The one really unpleasant section of the trail was the stretch from the Box Canyon Dam parking area to the Lake Siskiyou Resort parking area. This part of the loop is immediately adjacent to W.A. Barr Road. The car traffic and the development of the Mount Shasta Resort has always been a big distraction and is quite jarring compared to the rest of the trail (even accounting for the section of the hike through the Lake Siskiyou Resort, which also has a lot of activity, but the camp atmosphere permeates the area and is not nearly as bad as along the road). Thankfully, a new section of trail has been completed that hugs the edge of the lake and bypasses all the development and activity along W.A. Barr. This is a huge addition to the Lake Siskiyou Trail. Instead of the most unpleasant part of the loop, it is now one of the prettiest, with views of the lake, the Castle Crags, Gray Rock Dome, Porcupine Peak, Mount Eddy, the Wagon Creek Bridge and Mount Shasta. All of this is had from a gentle trail that stays well away from the road. Car traffic has now been replaced by the sounds of ducks and people enjoying the water. The asphalt trail exposed to the sun has now been supplanted by a shaded path. All in all, it is excellent.

The new path can be accessed from either the Box Canyon Dam parking area or the Mount Shasta Resort parking area. At the latter, the trail is at the east end of the parking area, just a few yards from the map kiosk. At the former, the look for the restroom at the midpoint of the parking area. The trail heads down to the lake from there. The old section along the road was about 0.4 miles between parking areas. The new addition is about 0.6, but much, much nicer.

The new section is added in blue.

In the past, the two best segment hikes on Lake Siskiyou were the north and south shore sections of the trail. With the addition of the portion, a third, equally beautiful option has been created. Beginning at the Box Canyon Dam, hike the new section of the trail along the lake to the resort parking area. From there, pick up the traditional route, swinging around into the shallow canyon of Cold Creek. Proceed along the Cold Creek arm of Lake Siskiyou on a trail slung on a steep slope. Cross the Wagon Creek Bridge and continue to the trailhead at meadow and kids lagoon. From there you can either turn around or make a nice loop through the meadow before heading back to the trailhead. In terms of scenery and interesting trail routing, this section of trail has as much or more than the two aforementioned segment hikes. Come winter, when the high country is buried in snow and there are fewer available hikes, this is a huge and very scenic addition.

A special thanks must be made to all the volunteers at the Mount Shasta Trails Association. There hard work in both the planning and implementation as well as the labor of actual trail building as made this and many other areas a reality.

This pictures aren’t great, but they do give a sense of the scenery the new trail offers. Click to enlarge:

At the beginning of June, I left for a week of hiking in the Sierra for my new book. It was early enough that snow was still an issue at higher elevations so I had to string together a series of hikes that were low enough that I could GPS the trails without any trouble. The end result was a journey through California’s largest mountain range almost from top to bottom. I began in Sequoia National Park and ended in the Bucks Lake Wilderness, which is in the Feather River region, almost at the northern end of the range. I managed to get 10 trails completed, which will no doubt contribute to my success in terms of meeting my self-imposed deadline for getting the trails completed. It is hard to pick highlights when nearly every trail is simply awesome. Whether it is waterfalls or alpine lakes, massive canyons and cliffs or lush forests, the scale of the Sierra Nevada is one best described with superlatives.

Surveying the impact of the drought on the range was both encouraging and discouraging. At the southern end of the range, the tree mortality was staggering, as almost all the conifers between about 4,000 and 5,500 feet have died. It is heartbreaking to drive through the mountains and seeing vast, dead forests. The tree mortality reached the southern edge of Yosemite, though it was obvious by that point that the effects were not as bad there and though some trees were casualties, their number was not great. North of Yosemite, there seemed to be no sign of any abnormal tree mortality. The encouraging part was the amount of snow I saw everywhere. It far exceeded the snow reports I had seen. Not only was there a lot of snow, but reservoirs that had not been full in years were overflowing. It isn’t just Shasta Lake that benefitted from a good winter.

I still have a lot of trails to finish, but I feel better after having gotten a big chunk of them done!

The first trail I completed was the hike to Mist Falls in Kings Canyon National Park. This magnificent hike is in many ways a counterpart to Yosemite’s famed Mist Trail. It certainly has the mist, the massive river and the steep granite cliffs. The Kings River was swollen by all the melting snow, which made it a fearsome sight. Mist Falls itself, a 50 cataract on the Kings River, was angry and powerful and beautiful. Whether hiking directly along the river or through forested benches with views of the soaring canyon, this trail was just right for starting off the Sierra adventure.

The next hike was an easy one through Tokopah Valley in Sequoia National Park. The popular path follows the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River. Though the forest was initially dense enough to obscure the views of the valley, the river was delightful, cascading over numerous small waterfalls as it raced over large, rocky benches. The trail eventually emerged from the forest and the grand vista of the east end of Tokopah Valley was overwhelming. The granite cliffs soared 1,500 feet overhead and at the far end, where the canyon closed in, the Marble Fork raged 1,000 feet down the canyon walls. Named Tokopah Falls, this waterfall is the tallest in the Sequoia-Kings Canyon area. It certainly is spectacular.

The next day I managed to get two trails done. The first was in Kings Canyon’s Redwood Mountain area. This trail passes through the largest unbroken grove of Giant Sequoias in California (which obviously means the world, since they are only in California). The massive trees lined the trail for mile after mile, each one seemingly more impressive than the next. While there are none as large as the great General Trees (Grant and Sherman), this grove is essentially in a wilderness setting with no crowds. Indeed, there are few hikers here at all and the silence of the trees was incredible.

Afterward, I spent the afternoon hiking up to Weaver Lake, a beautiful alpine lake beneath a granite cliff. Located at the terminus of the Great Western Divide, this small lake is an easy hike and a great introduction to the terrain of the Divide. It is found in the Jennie Lakes Wilderness, a small body of wild land tucked away between Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Along the way to the lake there are numerous creek crossings, boulder fields and views of distant Sierra peaks that are in the 12,000 and 13,000 foot range.

After leaving the Sequoia-Kings Canyon area I headed north to Yosemite. While there, I hiked the trail along the north shore of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Although the lake can be discouraging by its mere presence, it is still a spectacular area. This was made all the more so by the high water in the valley’s waterfalls. Slender Tueeulala Falls had very strong flow, forestalling its eventual drying up by several months. Wapama Falls was simply incredible. The waterfall is surely the most underrated of all of Yosemite’s waterfalls. Nearly 1,000 feet high, it has a massive volume of water. It pours off the mountain in two tiers before exploding on a vast talus slope composed of house-sized boulders. It splits into several large channels as it pours through the rocks. I was soaked as I crossed the network of bridges that traverse the talus field.

I then headed north to Lake Tahoe as I notched more trails low enough not to have a lot of snow on them. Lake Tahoe’s Rubicon Trail certainly fit that bill. This gorgeous trail follows 5 miles of the lake’s shoreline through what is essentially a wilderness setting. There are far-reaching views across the lake, neat trail-routing along granite cliffs, and great vistas of snowcapped peaks. The trail ends at scenic Vikingsholm, where a short trail leads up to Eagle Falls, a great conclusion to a spectacular hike.

Next up was a trip into the Granite Chief Wilderness. The hike up to Five Lakes had a stiff climb but that was ameliorated by the beautiful scenery. Located on a divide between Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows ski areas, the trail climbs through a variety of different rock types. They created a colorful scene with red granite smashed up a against gray granite and black intrusions of volcanic rock punctuating the scene. The Fives Lake were partially snowbound, but still accessible. They certainly were scenic and made a great destination on a hot day.

After racking up two hikes in the Lake Tahoe area, I raced up to Feather River Country. As the sun began to set, I quickly hiked the short, easy trail to Frazier Falls. This impressive waterfall is 176 feet high and is among the prettier waterfalls in the area. The falls pours over the lip of the cliff and then cascades to the ground in a few, nearly indistinguishable tiers. The trail is short and accessible to wheelchairs. The hike passes through pine and fir forest, through rocky gullies and even has a nice complement of aspen trees. I want the book to include trails with a range of difficulties and this one may just rate as the easiest, but it by no means lacks great scenery.

The last day of my trip saw two more hikes completed. The first was at the magnificent Lakes Basin Recreation Area. This stupendous area has, as its name implies, a number of alpine lakes. There is a well-developed trail network here, accessing numerous scenic areas. The loop I choose circled Long Lake, one of the largest in the basin, but also passed by 8 other alpine lakes. The rocky basin was perfect for hiking and the lakes were complemented with meadows, waterfalls and views of the surrounding mountains. This area is not unknown but it still seems like a bit of a sleeper, with a lot more to offer than one might expect from an area this far north.

The last hike, as I noted, was through the Bucks Lake Wilderness, from Silver Lake to Gold Lake. This is the Sierra’s last big gasp of granite high country. Not too well known, it offers plenty of solitude to go along with the gorgeous scenery. The views from the trail include Lassen Peak and the Sierra Buttes as well as constantly changing perspectives of the massive granite cirque basin that contains Gold Lake. Once the trail arrives at the lake, one is in alpine heaven, with steep rocky cliffs, cascading streams flowing into the lake and the dark, brooding mass of Spanish Peak looming overhead. It was a great end to a great trip.

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